Countdown Begun”: Israel Calls New Hezbollah Chief “Temporary Appointment

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday said that Hezbollah’s new chief, Naim Qassem, was a “temporary appointment” and that he won’t last “long”.

His reaction came hours after the Iran-backed group announced that it had chosen deputy head Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon’s Beirut last month.

“Temporary appointment. Not for long,” Gallant wrote in a post on X and posted a photograph of Qassem.

In a separate post in Hebrew, he wrote that the “countdown has begun”.

Temporary appointment.
Not for long. pic.twitter.com/ONu0GveApi

— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 29, 2024

Earlier this month, an Israeli strike had killed Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council who was initially tipped to succeed Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27.

Who Is New Hezbollah Chief Naim Qassem

Naim Qassem was born in Beirut in 1953 to a family from the village of Kfar Fila on the border with Israel.

He was one of Hezbollah’s founders in 1982 and had been the group’s deputy secretary general since 1991, the year before Nasrallah took charge.

The 71-year-old was the most senior Hezbollah official to continue making public appearances after Nasrallah largely went into hiding after the group’s 2006 war with Israel.

Photo Credit: REUTERS

Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting across the Lebanese border since the war in Gaza erupted after Hamas attacked Israeli towns on October 7 last year.

Since September 23, Israel has ramped up strikes on Hezbollah strongholds and sent in ground forces while killing many members of the group’s top leadership.

According to reports, the Israel-Hezbollah war has so far killed more than 1,700 people in Lebanon since September 23.. Israel’s military says it has lost 37 soldiers in Lebanon since it began ground operations there on September 30.